Nile Gardiner is a Washington-based foreign affairs analyst and political commentator. A former aide to Margaret Thatcher, Gardiner has served as a foreign policy adviser to two US presidential campaigns. He appears frequently on American and British television, including Fox News Channel, BBC, and Fox Business Network.

Did Gordon Brown cave in to Libya’s threats? David Cameron must launch an inquiry into the release of the Lockerbie bomber

I’ve written extensively on Wikileaks, and have strongly condemned the illegal leaking of classified US documents, as well as the Obama administration’s failure to prevent it and take action against those responsible. The fact remains though that tens of thousands of documents are now in the public domain, released through several major newspapers, and the contents and implications for US and British foreign policy must be analysed and discussed. The latest batch of material relating to US and British relations with Libya for example, is highly relevant to the ongoing controversy over the appalling decision by Scottish authorities to release Lockerbie bomber Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi in August last year, with the cooperation of the Labour government in London.

As Con Coughlin noted earlier, Libya should fear Britain, not the other way around. US government cables which have come to light following the Wikileaks debacle clearly demonstrate the Brown government’s relief in advance of the “compassionate” release of al-Megrahi by Scottish authorities, out of fear of retaliation against British interests by the Libyans. The leaked documents raise further questions over the degree to which Brown’s administration was actively involved in the decision by Scottish authorities to release al-Megrahi, and also raise doubts over the claim by British authorities that they had no power to block it.

According to a State Department cable written by the US Embassy’s Charge d’Affaires in Tripoli, published by The Guardian and dated August 16, 2009:

The British Ambassador expressed relief that Megrahi likely would be returned to Libya under the compassionate release program. He noted that a refusal of Megrahi's request could have had disastrous implications for British interests in Libya. "They could have cut us off at the knees, just like the Swiss," Fean bluntly said. He also expressed hope that the Megrahi issue would not have a negative impact on U.S.-UK relations, commenting that "we have lots of other issues on the agenda right now."

In a January 28, 2009 cable, published by The Guardian, the US Ambassador to Tripoli reported back to Washington on major threats by the Libyan government (GOL), against British interests if al-Megrahi were to die in a Scottish prison:

GOL officials have warned U.K. Emboffs in demarches here that the consequences for the U.K.-Libya bilateral relationship would be "dire" were al-Megrahi to die in Scottish prison. Specific threats have included the immediate cessation of all U.K. commercial activity in Libya, a diminishment or severing of political ties and demonstrations against official U.K. facilities. GOL officials also implied, but did not directly state, that the welfare of U.K. diplomats and citizens in Libya would be at risk.

Another Guardian-published cable, this time from the US Charge D’Affaires in London, dated October 24, 2008, reported that:

The Libyans have told HMG flat out that there will be "enormous repercussions" for the UK-Libya bilateral relationship if Megrahi's early release is not handled properly. At the same time, in keeping with the practice of devolution, HMG has made clear to the Libyans, to the media, and to us that it will take no official position on Megrahi's early release, but will leave the decision on early release – whether through compassionate release or the PTA (Prisoner Transfer Agreement) – to the Scottish government, and the decision on the appeal to the Scottish courts.”

HMG is also adamant that, despite devolution, London controls foreign policy for the UK not Edinburgh.

Undoubtedly, London could have blocked the release of al-Megrahi if it chose to – this was not only a judicial decision but a foreign policy one too, with major implications for Britain internationally, including relations with Washington. This appears to contradict assertions by then Prime Minister Gordon Brown, and Labour ministers that the British government did not have any jurisdiction or say over the Lockerbie bomber’s release. As Brown told a Downing Street press conference following the Lockerbie bomber’s release:

When I met Colonel Gaddafi over the summer, I made it absolutely clear to him that we had no role in making the decision about Megrahi’s future. Because it was a quasi-judicial matter, because it was a matter legislated for by the Scottish parliament and not by us, it was a matter over which we could not interfere and had no control over the final outcome.

Tonight the British Government stands accused – and indeed the Prime Minister stands accused – of double dealing: on the one hand, saying to the Americans they wanted Megrahi to die in prison, but on the other hand saying privately to the Libyans that they wanted him released. Now we’ve got to get to the bottom of this. The British Prime Minister has got to be straight with the British people. For weeks he has been refusing to say publicly what he wanted to happen to Megrahi. Yet we learn apparently, privately the message was being given to the Libyans that he should be released.

I don’t think we can now trust the Government to get to the bottom of this so I think the time has come for an independent inquiry led by a former permanent secretary or former judge to find out what more papers need to be released so we can see what the British Government was doing in our name.

Now would be a perfect moment for the Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary William Hague to announce such an inquiry, which should focus on all ties and discussions between Labour ministers and the Libyan government, any agreements that were struck, and any role played by British cabinet members in the decision made by the Scottish administration to free al-Megrahi. Gordon Brown, David Miliband, Peter Mandelson, and Jack Straw should all be called on to give evidence.

The release of the Lockerbie bomber was an affront to the families of the 270 people killed in the bombing of PanAm Flight 103 in December 1988, including 149 Americans and 43 Britons. Their killer is now a free man, living in the lap of luxury in Tripoli, feted by Colonel Gaddafi’s brutal regime. The British government owes it to the victims of Lockerbie and their families to establish the full facts behind the shameful release of a mass-murdering terrorist.